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Abstract
Raspberry is one of the oldest fruits, used for millennia in the nutritional and medicinal purposes. Cultivation of this fruit in Poland is quite common because of its complex flavor and pharmacological effectiveness. The objective of this study was to investigate the residue levels of 130 pesticides on raspberries from north-eastern Poland producers during seven years (2005-2011). A risk assessment of the pesticides in raspberries was conducted by calculating acceptable daily intakes (ADI) and acute reference dose (ARfD). Pesticide residues exceeding maximum residue levels (MRLs) were found in 29.3% of samples. Among the detected compounds, the most frequently detected pesticide was pyrimethanil (34.8%). Fenhexamid was the fungicide with the highest concentration (5.53 mg/kg). The ADIs ranged from 0.003% to 3.183% for adults and 0.008% to 9.739% for toddlers. The chronic dietary intakes of 18 pesticides for adults and toddlers didn't overcome the toxicologically acceptable levels. The most critical case was procymidone with 180.9% of ARfD for toddlers and 83% of ARfD for adults. The results of this research show that raspberries are safe in long and short term nutrition of human beings.
Article history
Received: 29 July 2013
Received in revised form: 22 November 2013
Accepted: 25 November 2013
Keywords
Pesticide residues
Raspberries
Risk assessment
Monitoring
Introduction
Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) is very healthy, tasty fruit and the ultimate source of major health elements. These fruits contain high levels of beneficial physiochemicals including anthocyanins, hydrolyzable tannins and phenolic acids. They are a particularly rich source of cyanidin and are unique among the berries for their high ellagitannin content, which can be hydrolyzed to yield ellagic acid (Aiyer et al., 2008). Listed among these health benefits are their potential role in the prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, neurodegenerative diseases and aging. Raspberries are potentially a very high-value crop, but they are also one of the most difficult small fruit crops to grow because the plant and fruit are susceptible to many disease and insect pests.
Recently, raspberry cultivation increased rapidly due to relatively high export of fresh fruits. Poland is the most important producer of raspberries in the world. The total area of raspberry cultivation in Poland in orchards have an upward trend from 20 600 ha in 2007, amounted to 28...